Chelsea 3-2 West Ham: Liam Rosenior in-game changes inspire Blues to Premier League win

It has been some start to life as a Premier League manager for Liam Rosenior.

Saturday’s thrilling comeback win against West Ham was Chelsea‘s third league win in a row since the 41-year-old replaced Enzo Maresca at the start of January.

And, in his biggest test to date, it was his drastic half-time substitutions that led to the Blues recovering from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and moved them into the top four.

After making seven changes from their midweek Champions League win in Napoli, a limp first-half display allowed relegation-threatened West Ham to deservedly take control.

But, making three half-time changes, Rosenior inspired a comeback in which substitutes Marc Cucurella and Joao Pedro hauled Chelsea level with a goal apiece – before Enzo Fernandez’s dramatic stoppage-time winner.

Criticism can be levelled at Chelsea for a poor first half in which they were booed off, fully deserved to be two goals down, and raised further questions about the quality of their squad.

After the match, Rosenior played down the importance of his substitutions, instead crediting the mentality of the players since his arrival.

“My biggest learning is there’s a spirit and a fight and a resilience in this group that I really, really like,” he said. “I’ve demanded that from the first day of stepping in.

“We haven’t had many training sessions, but we’ve spoken about reacting positively to setbacks.

“We’ve spoken about reactions to losing the ball, pressing, energy, intensity. All of that was there in the second half, which wasn’t there in the first half. I don’t put that just down to the changes I made.”

Overall, Rosenior’s early reign, now four weeks old, has been characterised by grinding out results and impactful in‑game adjustments.

His predecessor Maresca ended his tenure after a breakdown in relations with the ownership and having dropped a league‑high 15 points from winning positions – prompting frequent criticism of his mid-match decisions.

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Liam Rosenior went back to not exactly Chelsea‘s best team, but what Chelsea knew and the system they feel comfortable in. It now feels like tactical genius because they have won.”